Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A6834/S5955, relating to human trafficking awareness and training in hotels.

Res. No. 74

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A6834/S5955, relating to human trafficking awareness and training in hotels.

By Council Members Levin, Brannan and Koslowitz

                     Whereas, According to the United Nations, trafficking of persons, or human trafficking, is the “recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation"; and

                     Whereas, Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that exists throughout the United States and globally; and

                     Whereas, According to the International Labour Organization, there are approximately 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally, more than half of which are women and girls; and

                     Whereas, From 2007 to 2016, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received more than 120,000 phone calls where 31,659 cases of trafficking were identified; and

Whereas, Additionally, over 60,000 victims were discovered based on hotline data, and in  reviewing  these cases,  instances of force, fraud, and coercion were found to affect at least half of the victims; and

                     Whereas, According to Polaris, an anti-trafficking advocacy organization, the venues and businesses where sex trafficking is most common are hotels and motels; and

                     Whereas, New York City has the third-largest hotel market in the nation, following Las Vega and Orlando; and

Whereas, In 2016, New York was among states that received the most reported human trafficking cases, ranking fifth out of every state behind California, Texas, Florida, and Ohio; and

                     Whereas, In April 2017, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin introduced A6834, and in May 2017, Senator Jesse Hamilton introduced S5955 which amend the general business law, in relation to human trafficking awareness training; and

                     Whereas, A6834/S5955 would require all employees of lodging facilities, such as hotels, motels, motor courts, apartment hotels, resorts, inns, and boarding houses, rooming houses or lodging houses, to undergo a human trafficking recognition training program, which would enable employees to recognize signs of trafficking; and

                     Whereas, Pursuant to A6834/S5955, human trafficking recognition programs would address the nature of human trafficking, how it is defined by law, relief and recovery options for survivors, and social and legal services available to victims; and

                     Whereas, A6834/S5955 mandate that human trafficking recognition training programs be approved by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance in consultation with the New York State Interagency Taskforce on Human Trafficking; and

                     Whereas, A6834/S5955 also mandate that lodging facilities  post a notice concerning services for human trafficking victims, including the National Human Trafficking Hotline telephone number, “in plain view and in a conspicuous place” in public restrooms and lobbies; and

                     Whereas, Pursuant to A6834/S5955, such notices would be developed by the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance in consultation with the New York State Interagency Taskforce on Human Trafficking; and

                     Whereas, Training employees of hotels and lodging facilities how to recognize warning signs of human trafficking can have a major impact on our ability to help victims and survivors receive the help and support they need; and

                     Whereas, Of the 26,727 calls the National Human Trafficking Hotline received in 2016, most were made by community members who observed suspicious activity or who had direct contact with a potential victim; and                      

Whereas, This highlights the critical role community members, including hotel employees might play in identifying potential trafficking victims; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A6834/S5955, relating to human trafficking awareness and training in hotels.

LS#10810/Res. 1680-2017

LS# 785

12/21/17

CMA